1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is generally directed toward a heating, ventilation, and air conditioning system and method and, more specifically, toward an HVAC system and method for use in a vehicle.
2. Description of Related Art
A conventional vehicle includes a heating, ventilation, and air conditioning system (hereinafter HVAC system) for adjusting the temperature in a passenger compartment of the vehicle. In vehicles having a relatively large passenger compartment, it is common to provide a front HVAC system for front passengers and a rear HVAC system for rear passengers. In its most basic form, the front and rear HVAC systems are completely separate or independent of one another. In more advanced systems, the front and rear HVAC systems are in communication with one another to permit front passengers to control, to some extent, the rear HVAC system.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,304,803, the disclosure of which is expressly incorporated herein in its entirety, is representative of the state of the art. In the '803 patent, the rear HVAC system may be either controlled by the front HVAC control system or manually by the rear passengers. When rear manual control is enabled, the rear passengers are permitted to control operation of the rear HVAC system via the rear control panel. If rear manual control is disabled, the rear HVAC system is controlled by the front HVAC control system, which may be either automatic or manual control.
However, it has been found that limited rear manual control may be more desirable. This is especially true of the temperature settings of the rear HVAC system. Therefore, there exists a need in the art for a method and system wherein rear manual control is based upon the front HVAC control settings, and wherein a temperature set point of the rear HVAC system is based upon the temperature set point of the front HVAC system.